William Larned
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William "Bill" Augustus Larned (born December 30, 1872 – died December 16, 1926) was an American male tennis player.
He was raised in Summit, New Jersey on the estate of his father, William Zebedee Larned. Larned Road in Summit honors both father and son. William came from a family that could trace its American roots to shortly after the arrival of the Mayflower. He was the eldest child of a wealthy lawyer and his wife. In 1890 he came to Cornell to study mechanical engineering. He first gained fame in his junior year, when he became the first (and to this day, the only) Cornellian to win the intercollegiate tennis championship.
An all-around athlete, Larned captained the St. Nicholas hockey team in 1896-97 and was also a fine horseman, golfer, and rifle shot. He invented the steel-framed racquet in 1922 and founded a company to manufacture it.
As one of the "Big Three of the U.S. men's championship", Larned won the title seven times, as did Richard Sears before him and Bill Tilden after. He was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1956.
Larned in 1898 had served in the Spanish-American war[1] as one of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. While serving in the war, Larned caught rheumatism in Cuba; Rheumatoid arthritis later deteriorated his health forcing him to retire from tennis after winning the Davis cup in 1911. Partially paralized by spinal meningitis, he was unable to do any of the activities he loved most, and became depressed. On the evening of December 15, 1926, the 53 year old man William Augustus Larned raised a .45 caliber pistol to his head, and committed suicide.
Contents |
[edit] Grand Slam record
[edit] U.S. Championships
- Singles champion: 1901, 1902, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911
- Singles finalist: 1900, 1903
[edit] Grand Slam singles finals
[edit] Wins (7)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1901 | U.S. Championships | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Beals Wright | 6-2, 6-8, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 1902 | U.S. Championships (2) | Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Reginald Doherty | 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 8-6 |
| 1907 | U.S. Championships (3) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Robert LeRoy | 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 |
| 1908 | U.S. Championships (4) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Beals Wright | 6-1, 6-2, 8-6 |
| 1909 | U.S. Championships (5) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg William Clothier | 6-1, 6-2, 5-7, 1-6, 6-1 |
| 1910 | U.S. Championships (6) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Thomas Bundy | 6-1, 5-7, 6-0, 6-8, 6-1 |
| 1911 | U.S. Championships (7) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Maurice McLoughlin | 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 |
[edit] Runner-ups (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1900 | U.S. Championships | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Malcolm Whitman | 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 |
| 1903 | U.S. Championships | Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Hugh Doherty | 6-0, 6-3, 10-8 |
[edit] External links
- Tennis Hall of Fame profile
- Biography
- Spanish-American War Military Service Record
- Biography
- Biographyde:William Larned
es:William Larned fr:William Larned hi:विलियम लार्नड ja:ウィリアム・ラーンド pl:William Larned pt:William Larned sv:William Larned
